Method, system, and software for geographically focused network advertising

ABSTRACT

A software based system and method of displaying location based information from an information site on a network by determining location data of a user of the location based information on the network. The location based information is generated based on the determined location data of the user; and generated location based information is provided to the user over the network.

PRIORITY INFORMATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/217,049, filed Aug. 24, 2011, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/149,767, filed on May 31, 2011, now U.S. Pat.No. 8,046,258, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/901,013, filed on Oct. 8, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,958,007,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/714,665,filed on Nov. 17, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,813,958, which claimspriority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/165,943,filed on Nov. 17, 1999, the disclosures of which are incorporated hereinin their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to the field of a software based systemand method that provides useful and tailored location based informationto a user interested in a particular subject area, and moreparticularly, to a software based system and method that automaticallydetermines location data of a user to generate and display the locationbased information to the user.

2. Background of the Related Art

One of the problems of an information site on the Internet or othersimilar widely accessible public or private network (or internet-work)is that the information that is relevant to one user at one location maynot be relevant to another user at another location. For example,information relating to repair personnel is relevant only to arelatively local area because repair personnel in other areas cannotconveniently respond to the repair needs of people in other areas thatare not within easy travelling distance.

Therefore, the boundary-less nature of a widely accessible network, likethe Internet, creates a problem for providing services that arenecessarily or advantageously only provided on a regional or locationbased basis. Other examples of such location specific services includesprofessional services, such as, lawyers, doctors, veterinarians, andreal estate professionals, who are licensed by jurisdiction, and assuch, can only provide services within the jurisdictions in which theyare authorized or licensed. Furthermore, even where a service providermay be authorized in a relatively large jurisdiction, they mayeffectively provide services in only a much smaller area of theirjurisdiction. For example, real estate professionals often specialize inreal estate transactions in a small area or Locality even if they arelicensed to practice in a larger jurisdiction. Other examples includedelivery companies, such as local food or grocery delivery servicecompanies that may be able to provide delivery services of goods only ina specific location or area.

Furthermore, there is a need for the location information to beparticularized based on subject areas that may be of interest to a user.Therefore, in a particular location, a user may only be interested ininformation that relates to one or more subject areas. Since, aninformation site on a widely accessible network, like the internet,potentially provides information to any user that can access theInternet, there is a need for a system that provides location basedinformation tailored to the location of a particular user (orcommunication device used by the user) and also limited or sorted by thesubject areas of interest to the user.

In addition, the providers of information on an information site on awidely accessed network, such as the Internet, need the opportunity totailor their content and advertisements to users in a particularlocation and/or related to a particular subject area. Accordingly, thereis a need for a system that effectively provides location basedadvertising and content based on a location of a user that accesses theadvertising and content. Furthermore, there is a need for a system thatallows a sponsor or an advertiser to better manage their expendituresbased on such local usage of their content or advertising provided on awidely accessed network, such as the Internet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is a general object of the invention to alleviate theproblems and shortcomings identified above.

In one aspect, the present invention provides a method of displayinglocation based information from an information site on a network, themethod including: determining location data of a user of the locationbased information on the network; generating location based informationbased on the determined location data of the user; and providing thegenerated location based information to the user over the network.

In one aspect of the present invention, the location based informationincludes location based advertising.

In another aspect of the present invention, the location basedinformation includes location based content.

In a further aspect of the present invention, the location basedadvertising includes advertising related to a particular subject matterarea, wherein the particular subject matter area is determined based onthe user.

In another aspect, the present invention provides that the locationbased content includes content related to a particular subject matterarea, wherein the particular subject matter area is determined based onthe user.

In one aspect of the present invention, the step of determining locationdata includes at least one of: receiving location data input by theuser, using a network address of a computing/communication device usedby the user, using location data determined by thecomputing/communication device used by the user, using a location tablefor determining the location data, or receiving location data from ageographic tracking system.

In a further aspect of the present invention, the geographic trackingsystem includes a satellite based tracking system.

In one aspect, the present invention provides that the steps ofdetermining location data and providing the generated location basedinformation includes communication with a computing/communication deviceused by the user.

In a further aspect of the present invention, thecomputing/communication device includes at least one of: a personaldigital assistant (PDA) or other portable device, a web browser, a cellor other wireless phone, a electronic billboard, a website, a pager, atelevision, a web-based television device, an internet enabled device orappliance, a health monitoring device, a kiosk displaying informationrelated to one or more subject areas, a terminal in a library, anInternet radio application, and a job related web site.

In one aspect, the present invention provides that the subject matterareas includes at least one of: home improvement, real estate, realestate professionals, real estate foreclosures and related services,automobiles, repair facilities, delivery services, health care orveterinary professionals or facilities, and professional serviceproviders.

An important aspect of the present invention provides that the networkis the Internet.

In another aspect, the present invention provides that the location dataof a user includes at least one of: country, state, county,administrative division, geographic or location coordinates, postalcode, company regions, population regions, or attribute based regions.

In one aspect, the present invention provides a computer readable datastorage medium having program code recorded thereon for displayinglocation based information from an information site on a network, theprogram code including: a first program code that determines locationdata of a user of the location based information on the network; asecond program code that generates location based information based onthe determined location data of the user; and a third program code thatprovides the generated location based information to the user over thenetwork.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a system fordisplaying location based information from an information site on anetwork, the system including: a host device, connected to the network,that displays location based information to a user; and a server device,connected to the network, that determines location data of the hostdevice, generates location based information based on the location dataof the host device, and transmits the generated location basedinformation for display by the host device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate a presently preferred embodimentof the invention, and, together with the general description given aboveand the detailed description of the preferred embodiment given below,serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the components of a general purposecomputer system connected to an electronic network.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the high level system components ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing the high level process steps of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the stages of one embodiment of the presentinvention for providing real estate foreclosure related information.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

In a general aspect, the present invention provides a system and methodthat can be used to provide useful and tailored geographically basedinformation to a user interested in particular subject matter, whilegenerating substantial sponsorship revenues. The information provided tothe user can be sponsored or unsponsored, publicly available orproprietary content or any combination thereof.

A user first accesses a computer server (or more generically an“information site”) on a public or private network, such as theInternet. Typically, the user will use a computing/communication deviceto communicate with the computer server. However, the present inventionis not limited to any interactive computing/communication device sincesome embodiments of the present invention can be used by passivecomponents such as electronic billboards or Internet appliances thatthemselves communicate with the server without any “interaction” withthe user.

The server operated by a system operator may provide access toinformation on several subject areas or only on one. In the case ofservers providing information for several subject matter areas, the userwill select the subject area of interest. The user will then be asked tosupply geographic information (or more generically “location data”) insome useful form. The invention is not limited by the form of providingthe geographic information or the location data. For example, the usercould “click” on a geographic location in a displayed map, input a town,city, state or postal code, or identify the geographic location in someother manner. Indeed, the geographic information may be derived using anautomated process, for example, from the user's network address or otherparameters indicative of geographic location. For example, thegeographic information may be pre-programmed into acomputing/communication device such as an electronic billboard.Alternatively, the geographic information may be derived based on ageographic location tracking system, such as a satellite based trackingsystem like the GPS.

In another alternative, the user could be prompted for the geographicinformation first. Next subject topics appropriate to or available forthat geographic area as stored in a data base are displayed for theuser's selection. For example, a user may input geographicidentification for Mesa, Ariz. It is to be understood that the presentinvention contemplates that one or more of these geographic locationindicators can be used in combination.

A computer program module reads the geographic information andidentifies and displays subject matter areas corresponding to thegeographic information or the location data, such as, for example, homeimprovement, real estate, or automobiles. When the user clicks on atopic, such as the home improvement topic, he then sees a display ofcategories. For example, the category list displayed may include suchtopics as building permits, grading, carpentry, plumbing, electrical,landscaping, painting, interior design, etc. The categories may besponsored exclusively by a particular supplier of goods and services, asa way of directing the user to that supplier. For example, a provider ofpermitting services may sponsor the building permits subcategory of thishome improvement information site for Mesa, Ariz. The permittingservices provider then provides content in the form of original orlicensed content. For example, the permitting services provider maydisplay planning and zoning maps licensed from a map maker. Thepermitting services provider may also choose to include links to countyregulations for the user's review. The permitting services providercould also include original content. For example, text or chartsrelating to specific requirements and regulations in the geographicregion. As the exclusive sponsor for the region, the permitting servicesprovider would also try to direct customers to use his services.

Similarly the electrical category may include separately sponsoredsub-categories for electrical contractors, parts suppliers, lamp andlighting supplies, etc. The sponsor of each subcategory provides contentand links. For example, the electrical contractor sponsor may provideinformation about specific local requirements in this region and linksto corresponding local regulations. The lamp and lighting sponsor mayprovide product information and links to manufacturer sites.

Throughout this process an exclusive sponsor for each category orsub-category in the geographic regions corresponding to the regionidentified for the user provides general information and informationunique to that region. For example, geographic regions with miles ofecologically sensitive waterfront may have zoning regulations verydifferent from those in an industrial area or in the plains states.Thus, a system according to the invention includes a server computerthat is programmed to capture the user's geographic information and toaccess a data base of information available for the region identifiedfor the user. For each region, the data base identifies informationcategories. Each category in that region may have an exclusive sponsoror may be broken down further into sub-categories, with each subcategoryhaving an exclusive sponsor for that region. The exclusive sponsorsprovide content and links appropriate for that category in that region.The sponsorship may be for any convenient length of time, e.g. a day,week, month, quarter or year. Throughout this process the systemoperator may display a frame and its own advertising around theinformation provided by the exclusive sponsor of a particular subjectfor a particular region.

Geographic regions may be tailored to local circumstances. For example,a heavily populated metropolitan area such as New York may have moregeographic regions than a physically larger area in a sparsely populatedarea of Wyoming. With a large number of regions and a large number ofcategories and sub-categories available for sponsorship in each region,there are multiple opportunities for the system operator to generaterevenue.

With reference to the figures, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing thecomponents of a general purpose computer system 12 connected to anelectronic network 10, such as a computer network. The electronic (orcomputer) network 10 can also be a public network, such as the Internetor Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), or other private network, such as acorporate Local Area Network (LAN) or Wide Area Network (WAN), or avirtual private network. As shown in the FIG. 1, the computer system 12includes a central processing unit (CPU) 14 connected to a system memory18. The system memory 18 typically contains an operating system 16, aBIOS driver 22, and application programs 20. In addition, the computersystem 12 contains input devices 24 such as a mouse and a keyboard 32,and output devices such as a printer 30 and a display monitor 28.

The computer system generally includes a communications interface 26,such as an ethernet card, to communicate to the electronic network 10.Other computer systems 13 and 13A also connect to the electronic network10. One of skill in the art would recognize that the above systemdescribes the typical components of a computer system connected to anelectronic network. It should be appreciated that many other similarconfigurations are within the abilities of one skilled in the art andall of these configurations could be used with the methods and systemsof the present invention. Furthermore, it should be recognized that thecomputer system and network disclosed herein can be programmed andconfigured as computing or information sites (such as the server deviceor the computing/communication device discussed herein), by one skilledin the art, to implement the method and system discussed further herein.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the high level system components of apreferred embodiment of the present invention. One or morecomputing/communication devices (110A, 110B) connect to a server device120 through an electronic network 100. The computing/communicationdevice 110A typically allows a user to communicate with an informationsite provided by the server device 120. For example, thecomputing/communication device 110A allows the user to interact with theinformation site provided the server device 120 by allowing user inputand transmitting information, for example, location data, to the serverdevice 120. The computing/communication device 110A also receivesinformation from the server device 120 and presents the information tothe user. The information can be provided to the user as visual output(a display device) or other sensory output (audio, multimedia, etc) canalso be provided.

Examples of the computing/communication device 110A include a personaldigital assistant (PDA) or other portable device, a web browser, a cellor other wireless phone, a electronic billboard, a website, a pager, atelevision, a web-based television device, an internet enabled device orappliance, a health monitoring device, a kiosk displaying informationrelated to one or more subject areas, a terminal in a library, anInternet radio application, and a job related web site.

Therefore, in one aspect, the present invention contemplates that thecomputing/communication device need not only be an “interactive” devicethat interacts with a user. It could also be a “passive” device, such asan electronic billboard or an Internet appliance that displaysinformation, and the device is already programmed with its location datathat can be communicated to the server device 20. Alternatively, theelectronic billboard can communicate with a location tracking service(such as a satellite based tracking system like the GPS) which generatesthe location data that is communicated to the server device 120 eitherdirectly by the location tracking service or through the electronicbillboard.

The electronic network 100 is any communication network that allows oneor more computing/communication devices 110A to communicate with aserver device 120. The “electronic” network may in fact be anall-optical network or a combination of an optical and electronicnetwork as would be understood by those skilled in the art. Theelectronic network 100 may be a public network like the Internet, avirtual private network, or a private network like a corporate localarea network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN).

The server device 120 is typically a computing system that includesprogrammed application and system software and hardware and includeslogical database 122A that stores “location data” related informationand database 1228 that stores location based information (advertisementand/or content) that is correlated to the location data stored in thelocation data database 122A. That is, the location data database 122Aenables the server device to meaningfully interpret the location datasent by a user. Once the location data has been interpreted, thelocation data is used to retrieve the appropriate location basedinformation (advertisement and/or content) from the location basedinformation database 122B. As discussed earlier, in the preferredembodiment, the location data relates to geographical location data andthe location based information provides advertisements and/or contentthat is appropriate for a particular geographical location.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing the high level process steps of thepresent invention. In step 310, the computing/communication device 110Adetermines location data indicative of a location of a user using thedevice 110A. The computing/communication device 110A may be programmedto interactively retrieve the location data from a user, for example, bypresenting a geographical map or a menu to a user and recording theuser's response. Alternatively, the computing/communication device 110Amay be preprogrammed with its location data or the location data may bestored on the device as a file. Alternatively, a network address of thedevice may be used as its location data. In another embodiment, thelocation data may be derived using a location table that can be changedor modified. In yet another embodiment, the location data may be derivedby the computing/communication device 110A communicating with a locationtracking service, such as a GPS system. In such an embodiment, thelocation data may de directly transmitted to the server device 120 fromthe location tracking service or the location data may be returned tothe computing/communication device 110A for transmission to the serverdevice 120.

In step 320, the server device 120 receives the location data indicativeof the location of the computing/communication device 110A. In oneembodiment, the server device 120 uses a location data database 122A tointerpret the location data received from a computing/communicationdevice 110A. For example, the server device 120 may use a table storedin the database 122A to identify the location of the user based on thereceived location data.

Thereafter, in step 330, the server device 120 generates the locationbased information using, for example, a location information database122B. The location information can include advertisement and/or contentthat is keyed to the location data either directly or through itsinterpretation using the location data database 122A. The location basedinformation is then transmitted to the computing/communication device110A so that the device 110A displays or presents the received locationbased information in step 340. It should be understood that the locationbased information can be presented either visually (by a display device)or using multimedia devices that present the information using audio,video, or any other display technologies.

One of skill in the art would recognize that other system configurationsand data structures could be provided to implement the functionality ofthe present invention. All such configurations and data structures areconsidered to be within the scope of the present invention.

One of skill in the art would recognize that the server device 120refers to a logically centralized system that receives and transmitsmessages from one or more computing/communication devices (110A, 110B).One skilled in the art would recognize that such a logically centralizedsystem could easily be implemented using a physically distributed systemin which one or more processors and databases are connected over acomputerized network, and suitable hardware and programmed software isprovided to coordinate the processors, databases, and networks toprovide the functionalities disclosed herein with respect to the serverdevice 120. Likewise, it should be recognized that the databases 122Aand 122B are logically separate. Physically, they could be implementedusing one database file that implements separate data structures, suchas, separate tables.

In this context, it is also to be understood that the present inventionutilizes known security measures for transmission of electronic dataacross networks. Therefore, encryption, authentication, verification,and other security measures for transmission of electronic data acrossboth public and private networks are provided using techniques that arewell known to those skilled in the art. In one alternate embodiment ofthe present invention, the C/C device 110A provides contextualInformation to the server device 120 so that the server device generatesand transmits information to the server device that is correlated to thecontextual information provided by the C/C device 110A. Examples of suchcontextual information includes, for example, some characteristic(s) ofthe user (age, gender, nationality, etc.), profession or vocationinformation of the user, type of the C/C device 110A (laptop, pager,cellular phone, electronic billboard, terminal connected to a GPSsystem, etc.), a subject matter of interest to the user, or anyinformation that provides contextual information for the server device120 to determine appropriate information (content or advertising) fortransmission to the server devise. One skilled in the art wouldrecognize that additional databases and processing logic would also beneeded to interpret the contextual information provided by the C/Cdevices and to store and/or generate information correlated tocontextual information.

In alternate embodiments, the contextual information provided by the C/Cdevice 110A can be used in combination with the location data providedby the C/C device 110A. For example, the C/C device 110A may provide thelocation data and the contextual information sequentially (with eitherone being provided first), or the location data and the contextualinformation can be provided simultaneously by the C/C device 110A.

One exemplary embodiment of the present invention is applied topurchasing foreclosed properties. Real estate foreclosures and inparticular residential real estate foreclosures represented $28 billionin Real Estate sales in 1998. Real Estate professionals are motivated tomake up to twice the normal commissions by selling or financing aforeclosure. Homebuyers reap the benefit of reducing their closing costssubstantially and the promise of an instant equity position.

An information site according to the present invention (“HUD Infosite”)is an Internet site dedicated to serving both the public who seeksaccess to the information resources they need to acquire a governmentforeclosed home and the professionals who specialize in servicing thoseproperties. Using the invention, the can provide a powerful new paradigmto introduce customers to the local Real Estate professionals that servethem.

The desirability of government foreclosures has created a demandregarding this lucrative niche in the U.S. Real Estate market. The saleof a federally foreclosed home is an intricate transaction that requiresknowledge and diligence to complete.

Using the present invention, an informed consumer who has been exposedto the information on HUD Infosite will be encouraged to work closelywith the local Real Estate professionals advertising on it because theinformation provided encourages them to do so.

From the sponsor's perspective the content is designed to support theReal Estate professional rather than replace their expertise. A RealEstate professional advertising on the HUD Infosite will realize morebenefit as a lead generation source, rather than as a source of specificsales of foreclosed Real Estate.

A site such as HUD Infosite operating according to the present inventionoffers business-to-business (B-to-B) potential. Many B-to-B combinationsexist. The Real Estate industry depends on building relationships withqualified professionals to handle each aspect of a real estate sale. Anapproach such as HUD Infosite brings together local professionals tocomplete their transactions.

With reference to FIG. 4, a HUD Infosite process according to thepresent invention is discussed by showing the various interactions of auser with a website embodying the HUD Infosite, In stages 405-415(National, State, Region), users are guided to the region they areinterested in while being presented with national advertisers. Theirfinal region of choice is, preferably stored in a “cookie” for futurereference.

As shown in stage 420, separating foreclosure source specialties createseparate, and distinctly different, primary income streams. Real Estateprofessionals are able to feature one or more of these other types offoreclosures, broadening the marketing appeal to these professionals.

As shown in stage 425, each region features five professions formingfive secondary streams of income (for example): agent, lender,insurance, tide, and appraisal. Each of these exclusive Real Estateprofessionals has paid for the right to promote themselves exclusivelywithin that region. Dividing the exclusive marketing opportunities byspecialty and then by profession multiplies the potential income streamsto 20 sources of income (four primary and five secondary streams).Multiplying those 20 streams by 2000 geographic regions creates 40,000potential sources of income per month.

The HUD Infosite can auction off each region periodically, for exampleevery three months. Real Estate professionals currently advertising asexclusive regional professional may have the option to either match thehighest bid and maintain their exclusive regional advertiser status, orallow the bidder to assume the exclusive position. The winner will beawarded the ability to have their banner placed within premium space onthe regional pages as well as gain the benefits of exclusive rights(i.e. pre-approval forms). Therefore, the HUD Infosite provides oneexample of a website that receives location data from a user to generatelocation based information (advertisements and/or content) and is ableto maximize the utility for the user while maximizing the opportunitiesfor realized targeted sponsorship revenues.

Other examples of implementations of the present invention include anInternet Service Provider or a cell phone service that provides tailoredlocal advertisements to a user based on location data received from theusers. Such services can be made free to a user if the locally tailoredadvertisements generate a viable revenue model.

Electronic billboards or a GPS enabled device can also tailor theirinformation (content and/or advertisements) based on the location datatransmitted to a server device such as that provided by the presentinvention.

Other applications of the present invention include Internet enableddevices or appliances that can display a local list of repairmen when itdetects a problem in the device or appliance by communicating with aserver device provided according to the present invention.

A health monitoring device may display a localized list of doctors ormedical facilities based on a detected medical condition bycommunicating with a server device provided according to the presentinvention.

A terminal in a library or an information kiosk can provide localizedcontent by transmitting location data and communicating with a serverdevice provided according to the present invention.

Internet applications such as an Internet radio application or a jobsearch website can provide useful localized information based on thelocation data received from a user.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled inthe art from a consideration of the specification and the practice ofthe invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification beconsidered as exemplary only, with the true scope and spirit of theinvention being indicated by the following claims.

1. A computer readable information storage medium having program codestored thereon that, when executed by a computer on a network,communicates information over said network comprising: program code toreceive at a first information site on said network an informationrequest from a communications device connected through said network,said information request relating to a particular subject matter;program code that determines a particular geographic area for relevantinformation to be provided in answering said information request,wherein the particular geographic area for relevant information isdetermined from at least one of an input to the communication device,the communication device's derived geographic location, thecommunication device's location stored in a memory, and thecommunication device's network address, the input to the communicationdevice being at least one of a selection on a displayed map, input of apostal code, input of address information, input of said subject matterof interest, and input of said information request, wherein any input isprovided by at least one of a selection and typed entry on thecommunication device; program code to retrieve answer information fromone or more databases, said answer information comprising informationresponsive to said information request and advertiser information, saidadvertiser information being based on the determined particulargeographic area for relevant information and containing a link toconnect said communication device to the advertiser's information siterelating to said particular subject matter; and program code to providesaid answer information from said first information site to saidcommunication device.